The White House was the scene of a torts controversy this week after Presidential Dog Barney bite a reporter. It is a classic question of the common law “one free bite rule.” The video is below.

The Scottish terrier bit Reuters reporter Jonathan Decker in a dream of any personal injury lawyer: a well photographed, unprovoked attack. The greatest danger to Decker was being crushed by the hundreds of lawyers on nearby K St, rushing to give him their business cards. (I am in Kentucky for a speech and feel helpless in missing the opportunity).

Barney appears to have finally succumbed to the hostility toward the media that has manifested itself during this campaign at the White House. This is clearly a case of a pet picking up an owner’s feelings.

Under the common law, the expression “one free bite” is a bit of a misnomer. An owner is strictly liable if he has knowledge of the dog’s vicious propensities — not necessarily by a previous biting alone. This could be an ideal subject for congressional oversight to determine if President Bush has brought vicious animals into the White House complex to attack reporters as some type of Roman games or sport as he watches from the Oval Office. I hear that someone saw Bush give the thumbs down signal seconds before Barney was released on the reporter.

Barney is originally from New Jersey and was born on September 30, 2000.

Previous presidents have had both a hippo and a gator as pets — animals that would be classified as wild under the common law and subject to strict liability.

I would suggest a pit bull sans lipstick, and call her either “Victory,” or “Donum,” the Latin word for gift
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I thought about a pit bull, too. They can be great family dogs, despite the negative press.

Personally, I adore Bull Terriers and Bull Dogs – English and French.

I am familiar with many breeds and could go on and on.

I own a Border Collie, a Wiemariner, a Vizsla, two Chesapeake Bay Retrievers, a German Short-haired Pointer/lab mix,and a Basset Hound.

But thinking about where they are going to be housed, initially, and how busy everyone will be, that family needs a family dog with a ‘mellow’ temperament and ‘someone’ to exercise it regularly.
No doubt the kids would enjoy taking it swimming with them or to the beach – also a consideration.

“Sue happy” is in the eye of the beholder. 85% of all civil cases are brought by businesses against other businesses or consumers. Are they “sue happy” too? Or maybe you just think suing somebody is wrong ethically or morally?

Did you see the story on 60 mintues with the man who pretended to be a FBI agent and “arrested” several drug dealers in the community? Then he was found out to be a fraud. And those that he arrested (these people wrote and signed comfessions) had their charges dropped against them and are now suing their city for 10 million dollars?

The guy who pretended to be a cop was wrong to do so. If he wanted to help fight crime, then he should have become a real cop.

But explain to me how these drug dealers are entitled to $10 million dollars? Yes they weren’t arrested by a real cop and proper procedure may not have been followed (I don’t know how they were interrogated) but they were still breaking the law and they admitted it to actual law enforcement officers. And they wrote and signed confessions.

The whole situation is crazy, but both parties involved still broke the law.

On the other hand filing a lawsuit without basis just to get money is fraud and no court I know countenances fraud. Believe it or not Judges are not fools and they are pretty good at separating the innocently injured from the fakers. Simply getting a large verdict from an at fault party is likewise no proof of frivolousness lest Pennzoil should give back it’s 10 billion dollar award against Texaco. You need to talk to more lawyers about how the system works instead of drinking the John Stossel Kool-Ade.

On your last point, the law doesn’t limit recovery based on the magnitude of injury. Big injuries get big awards and little injuries get small awards. Juries decide, and why should we give up that freedom in the name of expediency or just because you don’t like it?

We may not get Bush impeached or have him punished for high crimes and misdemeanors, but perhaps some Philadelphia lawyer can get him imprisoned for abusing Barney to the point of causing his vicious behavior.

I do not want more harm to the reporter; however, a non-life threatening infection of his finger should help in any lawsuit.